To have in one box such wonders as Zimerman's Ballades, Pollini's Etudes, Pires's Nocturnes, Ashkenazy's Mazurkas and Waltzes, and the Cello Sonata incandescently performed by Rostropovich and Argerich is a treat indeed and could scarcely be bettered. DG has a back catalogue like Aladdin's Cave, and they have made the most of it. Pollini is represented strongly with magisterial accounts of the Sonatas and Polonaises, his Scherzos as diamond-tipped as his Etudes . . . There are some fresh and exciting choices to revisit. Claudio Arrau is a wise and gutsy soloist in the rare pieces for piano and orchestra . . . The Concertos are Zimerman's second recording . . . is gorgeously romantic, with every string slide cherished and each note turned like wrought gold . . . full marks to DG for choosing an interpretation that nails its colours to such a strong mast, rather than one-size-fits-all blandness . . . Lilya Zilberstein does her very musical best with the early Sonata No. 1, among other works, and there's some fleet-fingered beauty from Anatol Ugorsky . . . in the "Trois Nouvelle Etudes and Ecossaises. The songs are sung with freshness and ardour by the lively-voiced soprano Elzbieta Szmytka . . . Of younger contributors, Rafal Blechacz plays the Preludes mellifluously, with classic poise, a lovely tone quality and some personal, imaginative touches; Yundi Li is delicate and pleasant in the Impromptus . . . The pieces are sensibly arranged through the CDs, the repertoire and performers made clear at most turns, and the booklet is equipped with a substantial and superb contribution by Chopin expert Jeremy Siepmann. This is a set to treasure: when you can have all of these delights in one go, why would you want anything else?

For sheer big-name firepower and sustained artistry at the highest level, this last collection would be hard to beat. This is not a reissue of DG's great set from 1999 but a thorough remix, drawn jointly from the catalogues of DG and Decca . . . With Pires's probing, sometimes even searing voyage into the nocturnes (far transcending either drawing room or salon), Blechacz's celebrated, classically oriented rediscovery of the preludes, Ashkenazy's timelessly fresh, unshowily sophisticated tours of the mazurkas and waltzes . . . this is a celebration fully worthy of the name.